The Twelve Homestucks of Christmas
by SwiftyTheWolf
Summary: In which I make a small directory of Christmas stories involving the main twelve trolls, as Humanstuck. Rated T for some swearing and possible some other adult-ish related materials later on. Also, please read the summary inside for a full elaboration on the use of the holiday 'Christmas' in this story; I don't want to offend anyone.
1. Introduction

**And here, I, Swifty, present y'all with my new story: The Twelve Homestucks of Christmas!**

**Okay, before anybody even thinks about ranting on how "not everybody celebrates Christmas" and "check your privileges you over-privileged scumbag", let me elaborate here: it's a title. What did you want me to call it? "The Twelve Homestucks of Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Whatever the fuck you celebrate?" No, that's too long. Yes, this story is based around the holiday 'Christmas'. No, that doesn't mean you should go off on me simply for not have cultural diversity. I apologize. I'm sorry if I've offended you, and you do indeed have a right to rant to me about how I've offended you, but I'd honestly appreciate it if, before going off on me, you stop and think: 'Hey, instead of flipping my shit because the holiday I celebrate around this time of year wasn't mentioned in this story, maybe I should instead pay attention to the storyline itself and the writing quality since the author wasn't trying to offend anyone or me specifically.' I'd honestly appreciate it if you did that.**

**I apologize if that came off as 'aggressive' or something of the sort, but I just really want any and all of you to know that I mean absolutely no offense by anything in here or in any of my stories really.**

**Okay, remember: Homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie, as do all of these characters! Please remember that this is a Humanstuck AU, and that all the main twelve trolls are between the ages of twelve and thirteen. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

On the twenty-fourth of December, in a small development called 'Homestuck' – who would even come up with a ridiculous name like that? – only some are awake at the lowly hour of six in the morning, the sky still dark as night.

A thick layer of snow coats the ground, although it has been shoveled out of most driveways. There is the occasional driveway where the owner has carelessly let the substance pile up around his or her car, making it impossible without a little extra labor to get the vehicle out onto the road.

Ice has frozen over the large pond near the back of the development, where children, teenagers, and adults alike are often seen ice-skating around this time of year. Not right now though, for everybody has something to do on Christmas Eve – even the children!

Reefs are set up on most of the houses, hanging in the windows and on the front door. Christmas trees can be seen through windows, although if one were caught just aimlessly staring into someone else's house to look, well, that'd probably be a little strange!

Hardly any of the lights have been turned on in this winding neighborhood, but within the few that are, lives our first character: a certain, rather grumpy, human child. His short, black hair sticks up this way and that, and a few lonely freckles dot his face mostly around the area of his nose and cheeks. With steel gray eyes that can burn holes into your soul, he finds himself rudely woken by his father, Kankri…


	2. NOT A Morning Person

"What's your problem!?" Karkat whines as his father yanks the blankets from his body, leaving the twelve and a half year old shivering and curled up into a ball.

"What's _my_ problem? If I don't wake you up now, you'll be in bed for hours! Until noon, maybe! And we don't need that on Christmas Eve, now do we? Now, up, up, up! We have so much work to do! I can't believe you let me put off decorating until this long, and then don't even get me _started_ on Christmas shopping…" The child groans as Kankri walks out of his room, still rambling on and on about all the things he was responsible for and didn't do.

Finally feeling at peace, his droopy eyes close. He had wanted to get rid of those bags beneath his eye sockets for quite some time now, and maybe now would be a good time to do so…

"Wake. Up!" The bright lights flick on in his small bedroom, soliciting a groan from Karkat. "Get up, have some coffee, put on your winter apparel, and grab yourself a shovel! We've been needing to get rid of that snow in our driveway for quite some time now, don't you think, Kiddo?"

Karkat says nothing as he drags himself to an upright position, a grimace set upon his bitten lips. "Am I even supposed to have coffee?" His voice, a rather high-pitched one mine you, cracks from his drowsiness, and Kankri laughs.

"Well I don't see anything wrong with it! I give it to you every morning, and look; you're the picture of health!" Sunken in eyes, pale skin, and a sniffling nose are what Karkat believes to be the opposite of what his dad had just said, but he doesn't say it. There's no need in starting a debate with him this early in the morning, so he might as well do what he's told.

It takes Karkat all but ten minutes to run a brush through his hair about three times, leaving it still a little messy, suck down his coffee, throw on a gray winter jacket, black snow pants, and some boots, and head outside, where Kankri is waiting with a smaller shovel.

Most of the kids at school make fun of the poor boy for being short; he's always hated that the most about himself. Kankri always told him he got it from his mother, whom he's never met before. She left as soon as she could, leaving Kankri heart-broken and with a hardly manageable child. Whenever Karkat got up the nerve to ask about his mother, the man would speak very fondly of her despite what she did to him.

"Are you ready, sport?" You see, Kankri was that dad who always called his boy by pet names in an attempt to gain affection. Of course Karkat loved his dad, but he always had trouble expressing it. Sometimes, the two would get into heated arguments, ending in Karkat stomping to his room and slamming the door, and Kankri mumbling to himself angrily while reading a book.

They didn't have a television in their house; Kankri always deemed them 'unnecessary'. Karkat always responded with a gruff 'well I think school is unnecessary, but you make me go to that.' This would often end with him grounded in his room for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, sure, whatever…Let's get this over with." Shoveling snow made the young boy sweat with the effort, even in the cold weather. Every so often, his dad would start talking about what gifts to buy who, or what Christmas carols they should sing later (which, by the way, Karkat wouldn't partake in just like every other year), and sometimes even the rumors and gossip going around. But he'd always justify himself by telling both sides of the story how he heard them, and by not taking a side. 'Offending someone is the worst crime you can commit,' he'd often say. Karkat would simply scoff and manage not to make a remark about his own rude behavior.

They were working at the driveway for quite some time, and when they were finished, it was light outside. "What time is it!?" At his boy's request, Kankri checked the watch around his wrist, pulling up his red, fleece sleeve.

"About nine o' clock!"

"Nine o' clock! Are you shitting me!?"

"Language!" Karkat bit his tongue as he let the curse word slip. He did this quite often though, so Kankri would often let it slide. Unless the F-bomb was accidentally dropped, then the younger Vantas boy would be in a world of trouble. And lectures. It's always about the lectures.

"Sorry, dad…" He mumbled, sniffling and wiping his nose with his bare, red hand. "Can I go inside now? I want some more coffee."

"Didn't you wear gloves!?" Kankri abruptly ignores his son's request, and instead, tromps towards him with a worried expression adorning his face.

"You didn't tell me to wear gloves! Now can I please go inside!?" There's a slight hint of aggression in the request, and Kankri nods subtly, sighing.

"Yeah, go ahead. I'll finish up here…"

"Thank you!" Karkat throws his hands in the air, dropping the shovel to the ground and stomping to the front door, which he struggles to open with his blistered hands, and steps inside. "Fuck…" The word is hissed out in a whisper as hot breath is blown on the Vantas boy's hands from his own mouth. "Where's the stupid heater when I need it?" As per usual, he finds it in Kankri's room. It takes a large amount of effort for him to drag, carry, and nearly drop twice into the living room. It's about half his height, and definitely a lot heavier than his lanky form.

He grumbles obscenities under his breath until it's successfully plugged in and pointed at the couch, where Karkat sheds his winter jacket and snow pants, leaving him in only a gray sweater and black sweatpants. He wiggles his bare toes, sighing in relief at the heat that flows from the device. Sure, a television isn't necessary, but a heater definitely is, especially when there's already heating in the whole goddamned house!

For ten or fifteen minutes, he simply sits there, with his knees tucked against his chest and just enjoying the heat. But eventually, his boredom gets the better of him and he finds himself doing what he originally meant to do; making coffee in the kitchen.

Just as he pours it into the thermos and screws the lid on, the door opens and Kankri's voice is heard throughout the house. "Karkat! You're little friend is here!"

"Which one?" He shouts back with hardly any effort; shouting had become a regular thing in his life.

"What's you name sweetie?" He hears his father mumble. "She says her name is Nepeta!" Karkat is flying towards the door in an instant, almost slipping on the wet, hardwood floor. She waits for him at the open door, Kankri having returned to the driveway. A giggle escapes her thin lips, her gloved hand covering her mouth shyly.

"Don't hurt yourself!" She has black hair that falls barely to her shoulders, and it's flattened by a blue cat hat with ears that is almost always fitted atop her head. Her olive green trench coat hardly looks warm enough, but she seems to be perfectly fine in it, only having to wear blue mittens, black sweat pants, and snow boots to keep the rest of her body warm.

"N – Nepeta!" He straightens up, as if he hadn't just almost fallen and broken his face. "What are you doing here?" He takes note of her skin, almost as pale as his, and wonders if maybe he should offer her his own jacket.

Nah.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out walking with me. I love looking into all the stores and seeing what's for sale!" She clasps her hands together and grins; the excitement in her voice is evident, and Karkat finds himself blushing just the tiniest bit, his fingers twitching.

"I – I guess that sounds like fun…" He rubs the back of his neck nervously before nodding his head and returning to the couch. "Let me put on my coat and stuff. I'll meet you out there."

"Oh, yay!" She jumps up and down a few times, clapping her hands, before running outside, closing the door behind her. Karkat is right behind her, and she grins when he walks outside. "Okay good, you're ready! C'mon, let's go already! Momma wanted me back by three o' clock, so that only gives us a little time!"

"A little time!? Are you kidding me that gives us a few hours!" She's dragging him along by the hand, and he turns his body awkwardly to look back at his dad. "Dad, I'll be back!" Kankri waves at him, laughing heartily at the two.

For the next few hours, they spend their time pressing their faces up against the glass of various stores, gaping at the wonderful toys inside. Nepeta had even been kind enough to bring enough money for the two of them to buy hot chocolate at a candy store near the beginning of their development. Of course, Karkat had responded with: "You didn't have to buy me anything, fuckass…" and taking the money anyways.

The younger, but only by slightly, Nepeta had simply giggled, knowing he meant it in an affectionate way. Or at least she hoped.

Finally, after finishing their hot chocolate (coincidentally, Karkat had dropped his coffee after nearly tripping back at his house), Nepeta smiles. "Okay, I can't hold it in any longer!"

"What are you talking about?" Karkat mumbles as he tips his head upwards, trying to get the last bit of chocolate out of the bottom of the cup. Even after using his tongue, he's unsuccessful and slams the cup onto the booth-table, cursing.

"Look at this!" She reaches into her pocket and bites her bottom lip before placing a small box on the table.

"What the hell is that?" Gray eyes rest their hardened gazes on it. It's white, with olive and red stripes decorating it horizontally. She pushes it towards him, her eyes never leaving his face. "Is it…For me?" It isn't very often other kids give Karkat a present, and he feels a smile breaking out across his face. It takes a lot to get the Vantas boy to smile.

"Of course it is silly! Christmas Eve presents are the best! They're almost as fun as Christmas presents." She looks so intently at him that he absolutely _has_ to open it now. Carefully, with eager and blistered fingers, he pulls the ribbon out of its neat bow and takes the top off. His eyes light up at what's inside: a locket and a necklace.

"Did…Did you make this?"

"Yup! I used the chain of an old necklace I had, and Momma found the locket in an old box in the basement." It's shaped like a cat paw, and Karkat finds himself clicking it open. Inside, is a picture of Nepeta. A blush covers her face as the smile remains, unwavering, on his face. "I…I hope you like it."

"Are you kidding me?" He picks it up in his hand. "I love it!" It only takes him a few seconds to fit the chain around his head so it hangs loosely around his neck. "T – Thanks, Nepeta." He scoots away from the booth, and Nepeta does the same so they can meet in a little-more-than-friendly embrace.

"No problem, I'm glad you like it!" She turns her head after the embrace is broken to look at the clock hanging on the wall just above the door. "Oh wow, how times flies!" It reads '2:30'. "I should probably be going!"

"Oh." Karkat's face holds a bit of a disappointed expression. "Hey, before you leave – are you going to the pond tonight? The rest of us are."

"I nearly forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me, Kar-_kitty!_" With a small giggle, Nepeta's out the door in the flutter of her trench coat, leaving Karkat standing there with a silly grin stretching his cheeks.

"Mr. Vantas? Is that you?" He turns at the sound of his name. The shopkeeper there, Horuss, gives Karkat a peculiar look. "You look mighty happy! I saw you with Nepeta just a second ago."

"Yeah, what about it?" He loses the grin and crosses his arms over his chest defensively.

"Oh, nothing. I was just going to say Merry Christmas Eve! My boy, Equius…I understand you'll be seeing him later tonight, at the pond right?"

"I guess so."

"Good, right! I was just making sure he wouldn't be going alone. I'll be seeing you then! Bye!" Karkat rolled his eyes and gave a half-assed wave to Horuss before exiting the shop, holding the locket in his hands.


	3. Twice the Grief

_BEEP! BEEP!_

Sollux only lets his alarm go off two times before smacking his hand down upon it. "Ugh…" A groan escapes his mouth. What time is it? Why did even set his fucking alarm? His brother must have set it for some reason, probably just to fuck with him.

One of his eyes crack open groggily to look at the time: 6:22.

'_Shit…'_ He thinks to himself, rolling onto his back. '_It's early.'_ Well, if he's up, he's up. With another irritated groan, his legs swing over the side of his bed, successfully hitting the corner of his bedside table. "Fuck!" He breathes in sharply, just like every morning. He always forgets that the goddamned thing is there, and as a result, he's had this bruise that simply refuses to go away. "Stupid table…" His lisp is easy to identify, and he cringes at it.

Oh, how he'd always wanted to get rid of the stupid thing. Even before he got braces he had a lisp, but for the last year and a half it's gotten considerably worse due to the metal attached to his crooked teeth. He has to look forward to another three years of this. For most of his teenage life, he'll have metal in his mouth.

Fucking perfect.

The walk into the kitchen is practically hell for Sollux, because his eyes are squinted and his brain is still mostly asleep. When he finally manages to make it into the room, the house is quiet and dark. It sends chills up his spine – his brother, the one he's currently living with, won't be up for quite a while, if at all today, so he probably has the house to himself for the most part.

After finding absolutely nothing interesting in the kitchen and having woken up some more, he trudges to his room to put on grey jeans and a yellow T-shirt. A black sweatshirt fits over it nicely. Two different colored socks are fitted onto his feet as per usual – one red and one blue.

In the bathroom, he takes a good look at himself in the mirror; his chestnut colored hair is sticking out in tufts behind his ears like always. Sollux sighs, not even bothering to try and flatten it out – they never stay flattened long enough for him to get out of the house anyways.

His morning routine is continued as it would be on a school day, complete with brushing his teeth carefully. Twice. Braces made everything hard.

Leaning in close to the mirror, he blinks twice and widens his eyes so he can examine them. The same ugly colors they used to be – the left one a muddy brown and the right one a grey-blue-ish color. His contacts go in easily, and before he knows it, he's back in his bedroom, staring at the 3D glasses that are resting on that goddamned bedside table.

To complete his casual look, his hands wrap around the glasses and slide them onto his face. A smile twitches at the corners of his lips; perfect.

With his cell phone in his pocket, a black and yellow scarf wrapped around his neck, a black jacket over his sweatshirt, and two different colored shoes on – one black and one black. Most people thought his obsession with the number 'two' was strange, or just plain old random. Whenever somebody asked him about it, he'd usually tell them 'to piss off', or just that 'it's a cool number'.

Lies. As dramatic as that sounds, the number two is very important to Sollux.

As he exits his room, he flicks the room's light on and off twice before officially leaving it off. The walk through the house is slow and boring as always, although he does stop to check in on his brother, opening the door slowly and peeking in quietly.

There he is; Mituna Captor. His shaggy hair is sprawled all along his pillow, his chest falling up and down with a slow steady pace. The room is dark, blankets covering the windows, a musty smell in the air. When was the last time Mituna showered?

He can't stay looking at his brother for too long. It makes him feel sad, and hopeless, that his brother can fall like this so easily. The memories of when he looked up to Mituna, when Mituna would carry him on his shoulders and play baseball with him.

The door makes hardly any noise when it closes, and Sollux takes a deep breath. Downstairs to the living room he goes.

Briefly, before heading outside, he stops before a picture next to the couch that's pushed against the wall to make room for a large TV. The table it's placed upon has the number two carved into it in front of the picture, courtesy of him. In the small frame, is a bright picture of two adults, a woman with long black hair and a man with short brown hair. They're kissing, and it appears that they're in a park, or a backyard, or something of the sort.

"Good morning, Mom and Dad." He sighs, stroking the picture twice before being interrupted by a ringing phone. Twice it rings before he finally picks up.

"Hello?" The other line is silent for a few quick moments.

"Um, hi. This is…" He didn't catch her first name, only her last. "…Lalonde." Her voice is mildly slurred, as if she's been drinking. Who the hell calls at seven in the morning anyways? "Is…Are…The, uh…Um…The Captors there? Miss and Mister Captor? I'm a close…Friend of theirs." He goes silent, his jaw tightening – is this some kind of joke?

"…They…They died. Two months ago, on October 2." His hands shake and he licks his lips nervously. "Why?"

He can hear her breathing on the other line, short gasps. "O – Oh…Right…I'm…Terribly sorry, it's just…You and Rose haven't…Talked…" She hangs up. He practically slams the phone back onto its holder beside the picture, angry breaths escaping his mouth.

In about four seconds flat, he's out the door and trudging unhappily down his street. A few houses down, Karkat and his dad are outside, shoveling their driveway free of snow. Luckily, he can hurry past without being noticed by the persistent-to-be-his-friend Karkat.

Another street down, Nepeta seems to be retreating to her house, mail in tow. At the sounds of his feet crunching in the snow, she turns around and smiles, running over to him while waving her hand about wildly.

_Shit,_ Sollux is in no mood to deal with her happy-go-lucky shit.

"Sollux, hi!" She slows down, nearly slipping and falling front of him as her boots dig into the snow. Her signature green trench coat is wrapped tightly around her. "How are you, uh…Holding up?" She blinks twice at him and flashes an apologetic smile.

"Same as I was doing before." Why won't anybody just leave him alone about it? It'd hard to forget if people keep _reminding him about it._

"Oh…Well, uh…I just wanted to say good morning."

"Morning." He shrugs and begins walking again, when she grabs his shoulder.

"Wait!" Stifling an irritated sigh, he turns back towards her. They had been going to school together since the preschool, so he'd feel bad if he just ignored her and shrugged her off, no matter how annoying she might be. Anyways, she has good intentions. Just not any knowledge of boundaries. "Is Karkat awake yet? Do you know? You guys are friends right?"

"Um, kind of. But yeah, he's awake…He's shoveling outside with his dad." She grins, her eyes lighting up. This brings a small smile to his face.

"_Purr-_fect!" He'd grown accustomed to her cat puns after a short while. "Thanks, Sollux!" Just like that, she turns around and begins skipping back to her driveway before stopping in her tracks. "Oh! Are you coming to the pond later tonight?" He blinks; he had almost forgotten about that.

"Yeah, AA and I are going together."

"Awesome! See you later, then!"

The walk to Aradia's house takes about half an hour, and by the time he arrives, the lights are still turned off inside. Then again, it is light outside at this point so the lights probably don't need to be turned on. He steps up to her door, knocking on it twice.

It opens up quickly, his best friend standing there with a big smile on her face. "Sollux! Hi!" She moves aside to let him in, an offer that he takes gratefully. Inside it smells of marijuana and faintly of alcohol, obviously courtesy of her mother. "What are you doing here?" As a response, he gathers her up in a hug to bury his face into her shoulder.

Aradia doesn't ask anything else, but only hugs him, her black hair falling into his own hair and shoulders as tears begin to spring from his eyes. A comforting '_shhh_' escapes her lips as her fingers run through his hair in a sympathetic way. Choked sobs are quick to leave his mouth, almost as quick as he is to hide them, clear his throat, and back away, wiping his eyes beneath his 3D glasses.

"I – I'm sorry, AA, but - !"

"I liked it better when you called me Aradia." He looks up to her for a moment, speechless and blushing.

"Huh?"

"Aradia. I…I liked it when you called me that, instead of AA."

"S – Sorry…"

"Do you, um…I'm going to go to the general store, to do some bagging and maybe count the stock, while my Mom's away at Work." He nods slowly, fingers twiddling together nervously. "Do you want to come with me? You'll get paid, if they'll let us work…When was the last time Mituna worked?"

"Last weekend. He was out all night, but he hasn't really left his bedroom since. I think he has to work again tomorrow night, though…" Aradia seems mildly surprised.

"But, tomorrow is Christmas!"

"I know." A few moments of silence pass before he fakes a smile, poking her in the shoulder playfully. "Well, at least we get paid! Come on, let's hurry up." A wide grin breaks across her face, a small giggle escaping her lips at the poke.

"Alright!"

Hardly any traces of Sollux's sudden crying fit remain as they run out the door with glee, practically tripping over one another in the snow as they push and shove, trying to be the first to reach the general store just past their development.


End file.
